Why this page comes first
Most of the fuel setup on an Elite is structural. You're telling ESP what kind of fuel you run, which sensor represents engine load, how the injectors are grouped and fired, and which correction tables you want available. Once those answers are in, the base fuel table takes a shape and a unit that suits them. Change the big ones later and the numbers you've already tuned may no longer mean what you think they mean.
Our rule: finish the Engine, Trigger and Fuel setup before any real tuning, then move on to Ignition.
Tuning method: what the base table represents
| Method | The base table holds | When we pick it |
|---|---|---|
| Volumetric Efficiency (default) | Engine efficiency. The ECU combines it with displacement, cylinder count, load, air temperature, injector data and your target lambda to work out fuel | Nearly every build. It separates the airflow model from the mixture you want |
| Mass Air Flow | A multiplier on the MAF calibration curve, starting at 1.000 everywhere. 1.010 is 1% richer, 0.990 is 1% leaner | Engines keeping a MAF sensor as the main load input |
| Injection Time | Raw pulse width | Old-school maps or unusual setups where you want direct control |
If you're new to the VE approach, our guide to tuning with VE explains why it makes later changes, like bigger injectors, so much less painful.
Auto V.E. Air Temp Compensation
With this ticked (it's off by default), the VE model predicts how fuel demand shifts as intake air gets hotter or colder. Your Air Temp Correction table then becomes a trim on top of that prediction, so start it at 0.0% in every cell and only add values where logs show the model is off. Leave it unticked and the Air Temp Correction table is a plain percentage you have to build yourself.
Fuel type and load source
Fuel Type defaults to Petrol (gasoline). The other choices are Ethanol for straight E100, Ethanol Petrol Blend for something like E85, Methanol, and Flex Fuel. Flex Fuel is the one that changes behavior: it expects a flex fuel composition sensor, applies an automatic correction as ethanol content moves, and unlocks a Fuel Composition Scalar table so you can shape that correction. Both the Petrol and Flex Fuel choices also add a Primary Fuel Density table to the fuel table list. See our flex fuel tuning guide for how we tune it.
Fuel Load Type is the sensor that stands for "load" anywhere a table uses the Fuel-Load axis, including the correction tables. Options are:
- MAP Sensor (default): speed density, the usual choice.
- Air Mass/Cyl: load from a mass air flow sensor.
- Throttle Position Sensor: alpha-N, common on individual throttle bodies. Paired with the VE method, it still needs a MAP sensor (for vacuum and boost as a secondary load) or a barometric sensor (for altitude correction).
- Engine Pressure Ratio: for engines with both a MAP sensor and an exhaust manifold pressure sensor, with the Engine Pressure Ratio function turned on.
Fuel pressure input and base fuel pressure
These only matter if a fuel pressure sensor is wired to the ECU. Fuel Pressure Input Type tells the ECU how your regulator behaves:
- MAP Reference (default): the regulator has a vacuum/boost line, so rail pressure rises and falls with the manifold and the difference across the injector stays steady. The ECU adds manifold pressure to the base value to estimate rail pressure.
- Constant: no reference line, rail pressure is fixed. Typical of returnless systems. The ECU uses the base value as-is.
Base Fuel Pressure is the pressure with the pump running and the engine stopped. Here's the part people miss: it doesn't change fueling at all. It's only a reference for engine protection. If you want fuel delivery to respond to pressure, map the Injector Flow table against injector pressure differential instead.
Flood clear
Flood Clear Mode is ticked by default. While the engine is below Max Cranking RPM and throttle is above the User Demand Maximum in Throttle Limits, the injectors are shut off so you can crank a flooded engine clean. Let off the throttle or get above cranking speed and fueling returns. Ignition Lock Mode can also be applied during flood clear if you want it.
Injection system and staging
Disable Injectors kills every injector output, which is handy for checking the trigger and timing without fuel. Enable Per Injector Setup gives each injector its own flow rate, dead time and current control settings.
For staged setups, Number of Stages sets how many injector banks you have, and Injector Timing Method chooses whether your timing table refers to the start or the end of the injection event. Two thresholds decide when stages hand over:
- Maximum Stage Duty Cycle: when the running stage goes past this, the next stage joins in.
- Minimum Stage Duty Cycle: when duty falls below this, the highest active stage drops out, but only if doing so won't push the stage below it back over the maximum.
Worked example
Picture a V8 with eight port injectors on stage 1 and eight in the intake tube on stage 2. As power climbs, stage 1 duty rises until it crosses the maximum and stage 2 wakes up, sharing the load. On the way back down, stage 2 would normally shut off at the minimum, but if dropping it would send stage 1 straight back over its maximum, the ECU holds stage 2 on. That hold-off is what stops the two stages from flickering on and off at the crossover. We still leave a comfortable gap between the two thresholds so the handover is clean in the logs.
Per-stage setup: injection mode and configuration
Each stage gets its own number of injector outputs, injection mode and injector configuration.
| Injection Mode | How it fires | Trigger requirement |
|---|---|---|
| Sequential (default) | Each output fires once per cycle, timed over the full 720 degrees, usually one per cylinder | Full cycle sync, normally crank plus cam |
| Semi-Sequential | Outputs fire in groups, timed over 360 degrees | Crank position only is enough, for example a missing tooth wheel with no cam sensor |
| Multi-Point | Every output fires together | One trigger per spark event |
| Batch | Two groups fire alternately | One trigger per spark event |
Multi-Point and Batch both unlock Injections Per Cycle, which defaults to 1 over the 720 degree cycle.
Injector Configuration describes where the fuel physically goes:
- Per Cylinder (default): one injector feeds one runner. This is what allows individual cylinder trims.
- Shared All Cylinders: injectors sit in a plenum or common intake pipe and feed everything.
- Shared Opposing Cylinders: each output feeds two cylinders that are 360 degrees apart. On a four-cylinder with a 1-3-4-2 firing order running semi-sequential, that would pair 1 with 4 and 3 with 2.
Fuel tables: what to switch on
If you're not sure what a table is for, the default values are a sensible shape to start from. These are the ones you'll decide on:
| Table | What it does | Our advice |
|---|---|---|
| Overall Correction | A single percentage applied after everything else | Useful for quick checks, but put the real fix in the right table |
| Prime Pulse | One shot of fuel once the trigger gains full sync | Adjust for cold starts, confirm with a few cold cranks |
| Cranking Fuel Amount | Fuel after the prime pulse while RPM is under Max Cranking RPM | Tune with the Prime Pulse as a pair |
| Zero Demand Fuel Amount | Fuel used when throttle or pedal is below User Demand Minimum. Off by default | Useful for overrun behavior. With VE or MAF it brings in MAP Reference At Zero Demand, a baseline load for the calculation |
| Coolant Temp Correction | Enrichment versus coolant temperature | Mostly a cold-running table. Start from default |
| Air Temp Correction | Fuel change versus intake temperature | All 0% if Auto V.E. Air Temp Compensation is on |
| MAP Correction | Fuel change versus manifold pressure. Off by default | For TPS-load or Injection Time setups. Never enable it when MAP is already your load |
| Barometric Pressure Correction | Fuel change with altitude/weather | Needs a baro reading to be worthwhile |
| Post Start Correction | Extra fuel just after the engine catches, to cover fuel wetting the port walls | Make sure it decays to 0% after a short run time |
| Cylinder Correction | Per-cylinder trim tables | Only offered with sequential, per-cylinder injection. Use with individual EGT or lambda data |
| Gear Correction | A trim per gear | Requires gear position sensing |
| Generic Correction 1-4 | User-defined trims with optional enable conditions | Great for water/meth, launch or special cases |
| Fuel Comp Correction | Adjusts the flex fuel calculation | Only with a composition sensor fitted |
For MAP Correction specifically: with VE and TPS load, the VE math already accounts for manifold pressure, so this table starts at 0% and just cleans up errors. With Injection Time, there's no automatic compensation and the table has to carry the full correction.
Generic correction conditions
Enable a generic correction and a Fuel - Generic Correction tab appears. Give it a custom name so it's easy to find in channel searches, then optionally add up to three conditions. Each condition picks an ECU channel, a comparison (equal, not equal, greater, less, or the "or equal to" versions) and a value, and conditions can be joined with And or Or. The Lambda tables offer the same generic and flex fuel composition corrections for target lambda.
Troubleshooting fuel setup
| Symptom | Usually |
|---|---|
| Injection Mode won’t allow Sequential | Trigger type has no cam sync. Fix the trigger setup first |
| Cylinder Correction not offered | Not running sequential with Per Cylinder configuration |
| Engine won’t fire when cranking with the pedal down | Flood clear is doing its job. Crank with your foot off |
| Mixture changes with intake temp even after tuning | Air Temp table left at raw values while Auto V.E. compensation is on, or the reverse |
| Changing Base Fuel Pressure did nothing | Expected. It only feeds engine protection |
| Stages flicker at the crossover | Minimum and maximum stage duty set too close together |
Elite fuel setup FAQ
Should I tune in VE or injection time on an Elite?
VE, almost every time. It handles injector changes, target lambda and air temperature far more gracefully, and it's the default method in ESP.
Do I need the MAP Correction table on a speed density engine?
No. If MAP is your load source, pressure is already on the table's axis. Enabling MAP Correction on top of that just doubles up.
Where does target lambda come in?
With VE as the tuning method, the ECU works out the fuel needed to hit whatever the target lambda table asks for, so you tune efficiency and mixture separately. If this is your first Elite, book a free 30-minute consultation and we'll look over your setup with you.
